7 Shopping
dubai Mall Mall
Map p216 (www.thedubaimall.com; Sheikh
Zayed rd; h10am-10pm Sun-Wed, 10am-midnight
Thu-Sat; W) With around 1200 stores, this is
not merely a mall – it’s a small city unto it-
self, with an Olympic-sized ice rink, a huge
aquarium, indoor theme parks and 160 food
outlets. There’s a strong European label
presence here, along with branches of Galer-
ies Lafayette department store from France,
Hamley’s toy store from the UK and the first
Bloomingdale’s outside the United States.
It’s a ginormous, day-lit mall with wide
aisles and lots of open spaces, atriums and
even a fashion catwalk. The four floors are
divided into ‘precincts’ with clusters of prod-
uct categories: search for high-end designers
on Fashion Ave (which has marble floors and
silver resting divans), high-street fashions
on the ground floor and active-wear next to
the ice rink.souq al-bahar ShoppinG CenTre
Map p216 (www.soukalbahar.ae; old Town island,
next to Dubai Mall; h10am-10pm Sun-Thu, 2-10pm
Fri) Souq al-Bahar is Downtown Dubai’s an-
swer to Souq Madinat Jumeirah, although
it’s much smaller and less flashy. Unfortu-
nately several stores have shifted over to
Dubai Mall so it’s generally quieter than in
former years. Overall, shops are geared to
the tourist market; there’s an Arthur Murray
Dance School and you can also get henna
body tattoos here. The basement Spinneyssupermarket is a great place to stock up on
foodie treats.orGanic foods & cafe FooD
Map p216 (ground fl, Dubai Mall, Financial Centre
rd) Despite the massive amounts of jet fuel
required to ship them in, the fruits and
vegies are 100% organic at Dubai’s first
natural supermarket. This provides a re-
freshing, much-needed alternative to the
flavourless produce sold elsewhere. And
that’s not all; this shop is vast with an ex-
tensive selection of organic packaged good-
ies, as well as freshly baked bread, a cheese
section, a butcher and even a ‘pork room’.
You can buy passable pizza by the slice for
just Dh10 but, overall, the restaurant fare
is disappointing. For a healthy lunch high-
tail it to Baker & Spice instead (p83). Envi-
ronmentally friendly kiddie wear made by
Bornsage (www.dubaibabies.com) is also
available here.MaraMi aCCeSSorieS
Map p216 (Dubai Mall, Financial Centre rd) Every
girl knows that you can pep up any bland
outfit with the right accessory. And so does
Salama Alabbar, who stocks ultrachic jewel-
lery, handbags, scarves and hair accessories
in her elegant boutique near the aquarium
in Dubai Mall. Look for brands like Leba-
nese bag designer Sandra J, Ambrosia from
Paris and Assya from the UK, as well as a
line custom designed by local creatives.KinoKuniya bookS
Map p216 (2nd fl, Dubai Mall, Financial Centre rd)
If you forgot to pack your iPad or your Kin-
dle, never fear; this massive 6300-sq-metre
bookstore stocks over half a million books
and 1000 magazines in English, Arabic,
Japanese, French, German and Chinese. It
is also home to a pleasant cafe with superb
fountain views.candylicious FooD
Map p216 (ground fl, Dubai Mall, Financial Centre
rd) Stand under the lollipop tree, guzzle a
root-beer float at the soda fountain or soak
up the tempting aroma of Garretts’ gour-
met popcorn at this colourful candy em-
porium. The 1000th store to open in Dubai
Mall, it’s stocked to the rafters with every-
thing from humble jelly beans to gourmet
chocolate from France and Switzerland.
Pure bliss. Just don’t tell your dentist.
You’ll find it next to Dubai Aquarium.an ice-cold TreaTDubai Mall is home to some of the
best ice cream in town� Elbow your
way to any of the following for some
gelato time out (see Map p216)�
̈ cold stone creamery Some
wonderful fruity flavours, plus
one-offs like peanut-butter cup�
̈ frozen yoghurt factory Go
healthy (sort of) with one of these
creamy choices�
̈ Milano The Italians have got it
right� Delicious gelato with lots of
flavours�
̈ Morelli’s Gelato Another sure-fire
Italian place with the same creamy
fab flavours�s
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